OECS Commission Supports the Establishment of a Regional Position on Harmful Fisheries Subsidies

OECS Media Release

Thursday, April 25, 2019 — The OECS Geneva Mission supports its Member States prepare for WTO negotiations to end harmful fisheries subsidies ahead of a 2020 deadline.

In support of international efforts aimed at prohibiting fisheries subsidies that contribute to ecologically harmful practices, the OECS Mission participated in back-to-back regional meetings to prepare a CARICOM-wide position that would feed into negotiations at the World Trade Organisation. The WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation convened the first meeting for trade and fisheries officials, while the follow-on activity was organised by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The engagement of the OECS Commission and its Geneva Mission was to provide a detailed de-brief on the status of the WTO negotiations of Fisheries Subsidies and to allow for Member States to provide feedback and direction to Geneva-based negotiators. Immediately following the WTO workshop the Pew Charitable Trusts held a two-day session on Implications for the Caribbean: Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations at the WTO.

The objective of the Regional Workshop was to support members fulfill the December 2017 commitment made by WTO Ministers, to successfully negotiate new fisheries subsidies disciplines before the end of December 2019. This commitment is also in-line with the commitment of the international community contained in Target 14.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The meeting explored: the nature and realities of fisheries subsidies in the Caribbean; the potential impact of WTO restrictions on commercial as well as small-scale and artisanal fishers and the flexibilities required by the Caribbean in the event of a new agreement.

The OECS’ presentation to the workshop oriented participants on key technical and political issues that will confront the region ahead of the deadline to conclude negotiations.

The process towards establishing a regional position on Fisheries Subsidies will continue through established coordinating mechanisms within the OECS Commission.

The back-to-back meetings took placed in Kingston, from the 9 - 12 April 2019.

This story aligns with OECS Strategic Objective No.4:Support alignment of foreign policy of Member States with the development needs of the OECS.

About The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has eleven members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.